Northwest Housing Alternatives celebrated a ground breaking at the site of a 20-unit Veterans project to be known as Pomeroy Place. Washington County Chair, Andy Duyck, was joined by U.S. Representative Suzanne Bonamici and other community leaders on October 31 for the event. Housing Authority director, Val Valfre, introduced the project’s namesake, Colonel Better Pomeroy, a tireless champion for Veterans in Washington County and the state of Oregon. He noted that the new community reflected Pomeroy’s ideals: “…to promote a sense of community, dignity and hope to future generations of our nation’s heroes and their families.”

Chair Duyck noted, “Washington County is the most affluent of Oregon’s 36 counties, but we know that three out of four renters with extremely low incomes shell out more than ½ their income for rent…Consider that for every 100 families with extremely low incomes, there are only 13 affordable units available…We have too many Veterans with families struggling to make ends meet—forced to choose between rent and food…We are committing more funding and resources than ever before to help address the growing demands for affordable housing in our community.”

The Community Housing Fund provided a loan of $400,000 to Northwest Housing Alternatives in July 2015, to complete due diligence and acquire the site for this project.